Vol. 17 No. 29 | July 20, 2015
The 9th annual Mangum Family Reunion (my mother’s side of our family) drew forty-two of us from Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee to my hometown of Hope, Arkansas. What was designed for and intended to be a family reunion turned out to be much more for this dependent of Floyd and Agnes Mangum.
Going back to Hope is always a nostalgic experience. There are certain sites that are always a part of visits to Hope. Visits to Hope always include a drive through Fair Park, a drive by Hope High School, a journey through downtown (what’s left of it), and of course a passing look at the old home place. The family has finally all moved away, so these days overnight visits require a stay at one of the hotels. That in itself is difficult to grasp. Staying in a really nice hotel only a mile from where I grew up is strange.
Thought different from past visits this reunion in Hope provide several familiar reminders of days gone by and days ahead.
First, I was reminded that there is no place like home and there is nothing like family. Though I have occupied several houses and claimed to be at home in many other places since I left in 1970, Hope is always a trip home.
Second, no matter what is going on in the world or how much it appears (as Willie Nelson sings) “the world is spinning hopelessly out of control,” or what is going on in my little part of the world I am grateful that I have Hope to remind me that running the world is not my responsibility. This weekend I remembered that though at times I try to make everything that happens in the world my fault, my responsibility, or to somehow revolve around me, it does not. It is not my purpose to keep the world spinning. It does not spin around me. I am on board for the ride.
Third, no matter how tired I become from trying to make sure the world keeps spinning, or just how weary I become from trying to deal with life at it comes at me, there is a place of rest and renewal. That place involves being with family and being home. Mostly it involves remembering that the Lord has always and will always be in control.
Fourth, our reunion in Hope forced me to accept that some have grown tired, weary, and some are wearing out. Some have stumbled and fallen. Some are no longer with us. This reunion in Hope also reminded me that as some grow weary and pass on new life continues to renew us, refresh us, and restore our souls and give us hope. Because our hope is in the Lord our strength is renewed and that like others who have gone on before us we will soar on wings like eagles…we will run and not grow weary.
The reunion in Hope was designed to reunite our family. It did. But for me, possibly equally important was my reunion with Hope Thank You, Father for the reunion in Hope.
Isaiah 40 (NIV)
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Tom
A Norvell Note © Copyright 2015. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.
Near the end of the story of the Sower (Matthew 7; Mark 4; Luke 8) Jesus makes this statement in verse 14, “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” (Luke 8:1-15, NIV)
